"premier and the Politburo looking on. He succeeds as the film ends with Rocky winning the fight by knockout in the last round. With his character's death, Carl Weathers departed the franchise after ""Rocky IV"". In ""Rocky V"", the fifth installment of the series, after Rocky Balboa defeated Ivan Drago, Apollo's trainer Duke congratulated Rocky by showing that he made everyone proud, especially for Apollo by holding up his red, white, and blue trunks. Apollo was thereafter only mentioned briefly in past tenses, including a flashback scene between Mickey and Rocky before Balboa's first fight with Creed where Mickey states,"
"outboxes Lang, tiring the stronger fighter out and eventually knocking him out in the third round. After the fight, Apollo calls in his ""favor"" for training Rocky, which is a one-on-one match between the two of them with no cameras, no media, just man vs. man in the gym. The film ends as they each throw their first punch. After winning back his title from Clubber Lang, Rocky continues to live the good life, now that he and Apollo are good friends. However, a new fighter from the USSR, Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren), has emerged and challenges Rocky"
"to fight Drago's son, Viktor. Ivan Drago, a Soviet boxer, arrives in the United States with his wife, Ludmilla, a Soviet swimmer and a team of trainers from the Soviet Union and Cuba. His manager, Nicolai Koloff, takes every opportunity to promote Drago's athleticism as a hallmark of Soviet superiority. Motivated by patriotism and an innate desire to prove himself, Apollo Creed challenges Drago to an exhibition bout. Rocky has reservations, but agrees to train Apollo despite his misgivings about the match. He asks Apollo whether the fight is against Drago, or ""you against you?"" During a press conference regarding"
"which Rocky tells Apollo's son that Apollo won this fight. In 1985, Apollo (43 years old), comes out of a five-year retirement to fight mammoth Soviet Olympic boxer Ivan Drago, who has come to the United States on behalf of the Soviet Union to enter the world of professional boxing. Not wanting the Soviets to appear superior to American fighters, the patriotic Apollo challenges Drago to an exhibition match and calls out Drago at the press conference that sets up their exhibition bout in the Jubilee showroom at the first MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 31, 1985."
"press conferences and interviews. She dismisses allegations of Drago's steroid use, explaining her husband's freakish size and strength by saying, ""he is like your Popeye. He eats his spinach every day!"" Drago and Ludmilla are now divorced and parents to a son named Viktor. Unlike the flamboyant Apollo Creed and the brash James ""Clubber"" Lang—Rocky's opponents in previous films—Ivan Drago is quiet and non-boastful. Driven by his desire to be the best at all costs, this single-minded manner in which he pursues this goal deprives him of his humanity. Many viewers and critics have suggested that Drago was meant to"
"that they have ever dreamed, such as fame and fortune, and that she will always be there for him; win or lose. Motivated from this, Rocky goes on to regain his title from Lang. In the fourth film, Adrian and Rocky are visited by Apollo Creed, who has plans to have an exhibition match against a Russian Soviet Union boxer, Ivan Drago. After hearing his reasons, Adrian tries to discourage Creed, and tells him that she deeply cares about his well-being. Despite her suggestions, an exhibition match between the two materialize. Adrian attends the press conference, sitting with Apollo's wife,"
"Highlighted by a pre-match rendition of ""Living in America"" by James Brown, Apollo enters the arena from a descending scaffold overhead, dancing to the music in his old red, white, and blue Uncle Sam outfit. With Rocky, Duke, and Paulie in his corner, Apollo is overly confident that he can dispense of Drago with ease. However, Apollo is not ready for the extreme size and strength of the Russian. After taunting the Russian and landing a number of ineffectual punches, Creed is pummeled badly in the first round. Rocky wants to stop the fight but Apollo refuses. Apollo adamantly tells"
"to an exhibition match. Apollo fights instead, and the beating he takes from Drago ends with Apollo dying in Rocky's arms in the ring as Drago coldly watches. To avenge Apollo, Rocky challenges Drago to a match, which is to be held on Christmas Day in Moscow. In a montage replete with symbolism, Rocky is shown training in a remote cabin in Siberia with the help of Creed's old trainer Duke, his brother-in-law Paulie, and eventually Adrian, doing exercises such as chopping wood, lifting rocks, running in the snow and climbing a mountain, while Drago is seen in an advanced"
"Holm, Jack Johnson, Junior Jones, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Loughran, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Chancellor P Meeks , Amir Khan, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, Willie Pep, Barney Ross, Michael Spinks, Gene Tunney, Jersey Joe Walcott, Vasyl Lomachenko and Pernell Whitaker. The fictional character Apollo Creed is considered an out-boxer. If the out-boxer represents everything elegant about boxing, the slugger (brawler, puncher) embodies everything brutal about the sport. Many sluggers tend to lack finesse in the ring, but make up for it in raw power, often able to knock almost any opponent out with a single punch. Most sluggers lack mobility in the"
"the first round, despite Rocky's orders to stop the fight. In the second round, Apollo continues to be brutally beaten by Drago, falling limp in the ring and dies. Feeling responsible for Apollo's death and riddled with guilt by Drago's cold indifference, Rocky decides to take on Drago himself, but to do so, he has to surrender his championship. Rocky travels to the cold mountains of Russia and undergoes rigorous training. After much-needed training, his match against Drago takes place on Christmas Day in Moscow. With Evers assuming the role as his new trainer, Rocky trains hard using old-school methods"
"Apollo Creed, announces plans to hold a title bout in Philadelphia during the upcoming United States Bicentennial. However, he is informed five weeks from the fight date that his scheduled opponent is unable to compete due to an injured hand. With all other potential replacements booked up or otherwise unavailable, Creed decides to spice things up by giving a local contender a chance to challenge him. He settles in on Robert ""Rocky"" Balboa, an aspiring southpaw boxer from an Italian neighborhood of Philadelphia, known by the nickname ""The Italian Stallion"". Rocky meets with promoter Miles Jergens, unexpectedly presuming Creed is"
"train Apollo for the event. However, in a tragic turn of events, Creed is unfortunately killed at the hands of Drago, consequently setting up a grudge match between Balboa and Drago in Moscow on Christmas Day 1985. Upon Creed's death, Tony confides in Balboa that Creed was like his own son, and that a piece of him has died along with Apollo. Now Rocky's main trainer, Tony subsequently travels with Rocky, Paulie and Adrian to the Soviet Union and assists Rocky in his training, providing him with encouragement while also telling him that he now stands as the carrier of"
"the match, hostility sparks between Apollo's and Drago's respective camps. The boxing exhibition takes place at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Apollo enters the ring in an over-the-top patriotic entrance with James Brown performing ""Living in America"" complete with showgirls. The bout starts tamely with Apollo landing several punches that are ineffective against Drago, but then Drago immediately retaliates with devastating effects. By the end of the first round, Rocky and Apollo's trainer, Duke, plead with him to give up, but Apollo refuses to do so, and tells Rocky to not stop the match ""no matter what."" Drago"
"of Ivan Drago. Upset about the disagreement, Adonis opens up a challenge to anyone in the gym that if anyone could land a punch on his chin, they would win his car. After a successful first defense, Tony Jr.'s own student, Danny ""Stuntman"" Wheeler (played by actual light-heavyweight boxer Andre Ward) lays Creed out on the canvas and wins his car. Tony Jr. and Wheeler are both later seen training for a supposed match with ""Pretty"" Ricky Conlan in the intro of the film's version of HBO Boxing's 24/7 and the weigh-in in which Wheeler is assaulted by Conlan, breaking"
"multiple advertisements and television programs, and relishing his new celebrity status. After defending the title multiple times, he is prepared to retire, but the number one contender, James ""Clubber"" Lang (played by Mr. T), challenges Rocky publicly. Rocky, after dealing with Mickey's heart attack before the fight, is overpowered by the stronger, hungrier Lang and is knocked out in the second round. Mickey passes away after the fight, and former rival Apollo Creed steps in, training Rocky to fight in Creed's old style (in his old Los Angeles gym) and to use more guile and skill. In the rematch, Rocky"
"training him. After Rocky is diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphona, it is Adonis who motivates him and teaches him to fight again: ""Adonis is there to push [Rocky] the same way Rocky pushes him in the gym and in the ring."" Adonis pays tribute to Rocky, his father, and his country by wearing the classic American flag shorts in his debut professional match that Apollo and Balboa sported in their bouts against Ivan Drago. However, Adonis' shorts have the name Johnson on the back and Creed on the front, symbolizing that he can both preserve his father's legacy and still make"
"former champion, simply stating in an interview after the fight that ""if he dies, he dies."" To avenge Apollo's death, Rocky travels to the Soviet Union to fight Drago on his home turf in Moscow. The fight eventually becomes a long, drawn-out war between Rocky and Drago, and to everyone's shock, Rocky manages to severely damage Drago, and the crowd begins to cheer for Rocky, whereas at the start of the fight, they were hostile to him. Drago's trainer—a Soviet/East German official—insults him, claiming that by allowing an American to fight so admirably on Russian soil, Drago is disgracing the"
"is Apollo Creed's son (sired from an extramarital affair). Seventeen years later, in 2015, Adonis (using his biological mother's last name Johnson) is a wealthy young college graduate working at a securities firm. However, on weekends, he sneaks out to Tijuana to fight professional boxing matches against unheralded opponents, and maintains an undefeated 15–0 record. Soon, Adonis resigns from his securities firm job to pursue his dream of becoming a boxer. Mary Anne vehemently opposes Adonis' plot of becoming a boxer, remembering how her husband was killed in the ring during a match against Ivan Drago thirty years ago and"
"Drago connects with violent punches and from then, Apollo is no match for the Russian fighter. Drago even continues to attack Creed after the bell is rung to end the round, despite this being an exhibition match instead of a professional one. In Apollo's corner, Rocky contemplates whether to throw in the towel and surrender the fight (against Creed's earlier instructions), but instead he decides to hold onto the towel. Defenseless, Apollo continues to absorb blows to the head until Drago finally kills him with a final blow to the head. Drago exhibits no remorse about what happened to the"
"Andre Bishop's younger brother. This spurs Andre to challenge Frost himself. He is an amateur boxing gold medalist, and has a pro boxing record of 33–1, following his defeat to Andre Bishop. His character and physique is inspired by Ivan Drago from the ""Rocky IV"" film, but his looks are based on WWE wrestler Randy Orton. He is voiced by Travis Willingham. Franco – A corrupt police officer who helps D.L. McQueen frame André. Sometime during Bishop's imprisonment, he joins with McQueen Promotions. He is voiced by Jon Southwell. Ace – Andre's trainer, manager, doctor and best friend during his"
"Balboa. Rocky's best friend Apollo Creed decides to fight him instead but is fatally beaten in the ring. Enraged, Rocky decides to fight Drago in the Soviet Union to avenge the death of his friend and defend the honor of his country. Critical reception was mixed, but the film earned $300 million at the box office. This film marked Carl Weathers' final appearance in the series. Its success led to a fifth entry released on November 16, 1990. The events of this film serve as the backstory to the plot of ""Creed II"", where Apollo Creed's son, Adonis, is challenged"
"the largest icy mountain. Adrian arrives unexpectedly to give Rocky her support after initially refusing to travel to the Soviet Union, because of her worry that Rocky would be killed like Apollo. Before the match, Drago is introduced with an elaborate patriotic ceremony, inspired by Apollo Creed's intro. The home crowd is squarely on Drago's side and hostile to Rocky. In stark contrast to his match with Apollo, Drago immediately goes on the offensive. Rocky takes a fierce pounding, and is thrown and shoved across the ring in the first round, but comes back toward the end of the second"
"Dancing Destroyer"", ""The Prince of Punch"", and ""The Count of Monte Fisto"". A 2013 poll of former heavyweight champions and boxing writers, including former WBA heavyweight star James ""Bonecrusher"" Smith, ranked Creed as the second-best boxer in the Rocky series. Apollo Creed first appeared in the 1976 Oscar-winning film ""Rocky"" as the charismatic, intelligent, and undefeated 33-year-old World Heavyweight Champion. A planned Bicentennial fight against number-one contender Mac Lee Green was scheduled for January 1, 1976, which Creed gladly hypes whenever someone places a microphone in front of him. However, Green hurts his left hand in training, and when none"
"Stallion"" after the two brutal contests he had with Creed. Over the next few months, Creed and Tony completely revamp Balboa's fighting style after a shaky start. They introduce a more athletic style reminiscent of Creed's skilled boxing repertoire, as opposed to Rocky's traditional slugging technique. Moreover, Creed and Tony (along with Rocky's wife Adrian) also help to rebuild Rocky's self-esteem, which is left shattered after his knockout by Lang and the revelation that Mickey had handpicked some of his prior opponents in an effort to prevent him from serious injury, and to keep him winning. As a result, Apollo"
"portion of the Heavyweight title. He never unified the title or fought the very top contenders (as a professional) because of promotional politics. After his loss to Rocky, Drago was disgraced by the USSR and Ludmilla left him to raise their son, Viktor, on his own. Following the end of the Cold War, Drago was forced to move to the Ukraine, where he lived a modest life while relentlessly training Viktor to be an even more formidable boxer than he was. In ""Creed II"", after Viktor knocks out every opponent he faces in the Ukraine, and Adonis Creed wins the"
"Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (; ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and martial artist. Lundgren's breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ""Rocky IV"" as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, he has starred in more than 40 films, almost all of them in the action genre. Lundgren received a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in the early 1980s and a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney in 1982. He holds the rank of 3rd ""dan"" black belt in Kyokushin karate and"
"film, Paulie proudly introduces the robot as ""my girl"" to Apollo Creed and claims that she loves him. Paulie later accompanies Rocky and Tony Duke to the USSR to help Rocky train for his match against Ivan Drago, who killed Apollo creed in an exhibition match. But like before in Los Angeles, Paulie complains about the weather in the tundra and the squalid conditions of cabin they will be staying in. Prior to Rocky's match against Drago, Paulie shows a rare display of emotion and tells Rocky of the admiration and love he has for his best friend. In the"
"third films. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer who seems to be going nowhere in life, as he works day-in and day-out as a collector for a loan shark and fights in sleazy clubs for low pay rewards, for which Rocky is mocked and told that he's nothing but a 'bum,' especially by gym trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith). At the same time, Rocky successfully courts Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), a painfully shy woman with an alcoholic brother, Paulie (Burt Young). But when the world heavyweight champion boxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) chooses Rocky at random as his"
"for Apollo Creed), and Jake LaMotta, for his Italian-inner city roots, ability to absorb many blows and his rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson, which heavily resembled Rocky and Apollo's. However, it was the not-so-legendary Chuck Wepner who inspired the movie and Balboa's underdog personality. Rocky Balboa fights as a southpaw (left-handed). In the second film, against Apollo Creed, he comes out orthodox and Mickey intends for him to switch back to southpaw late in the last round, but Balboa refuses saying ""no tricks, I ain't switching"". Mickey tells him that Apollo is ready for him (if he continues using his"
"World Heavyweight Championship, Drago, Viktor, and promoter Buddy Marcelle travel to Philadelphia to issue a challenge to Adonis for the title. Drago visits Rocky in his restaurant to tell him how Rocky cost him everything, and threatens to avenge his loss through Viktor, telling Rocky, ""My son will break your boy."" After Adonis accepts the fight and Rocky refuses to train him, Drago intensifies Viktor's training regiment. During the weigh in, Drago taunts Adonis, telling him he is much smaller than Apollo was. Adonis shoves Drago and a scrum breaks out between the two camps. Viktor pummels Adonis, breaking his"
"Drago to throw in the towel to protect his son. Adonis, having retained the title, visits Apollo's grave with Bianca and Amara, where he makes peace with his dad for carrying on his legacy while also building his own. At the end of Creed II, Adonis is 25–1 with 24 KO's. He was 16–1 at the end of Creed. He then won 6 fights to go to 22–1 with 22 KO's. Then he won the world title by KO, won by DQ over Drago, then won by TKO in the rematch. Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler had previously worked"
"from critics, who praised the cast and character development, calling it a ""solid, if predictable"" sequel. Three years after his loss to ""Pretty"" Ricky Conlan, Adonis Creed scores a string of victories, culminating in a victory over Danny ""Stuntman"" Wheeler (Andre Ward) to win the WBC World Heavyweight Championship. Now a worldwide star, Adonis proposes to his girlfriend, Bianca Taylor, who agrees to marry him. When Bianca suggests starting a new life together in Los Angeles, Adonis is reluctant to leave his life in Philadelphia behind. Meanwhile, Ivan Drago, a former Soviet boxer who killed Adonis' father, Apollo Creed, in"
"Rocky not to stop the fight ""no matter what...no matter what!"" By the start of the second round, Drago pummels Creed with ease. Rocky again tries to stop the fight by throwing in the towel. Apollo tells Rocky not to stop the fight, giving Drago a chance to deliver a fatal blow (as Rocky drops the towel causing the fight to stop) to Apollo, who dies in Rocky's arms in the middle of the ring. Drago wins by technical knockout. An enraged Rocky then sets out to avenge Apollo's death by beating Drago in the Soviet Union, with the Soviet"